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Be Careful Not to Overspend on Gifts This Holiday Season

Posted on Dec 13, 2016 11:55am PST

You probably love the holiday season because it is a clear opportunity
to give to others and show how much they mean to you. The end of the year
is also a popular time to treat yourself to things you’ve wanted
since January, like that new television or vacation. For those who are
in financial duress and are considering
bankruptcy, though, the spending surge of the holidays needs to be curtailed. If
it is not, overspending could dramatically worsen an already-precarious
situation.

Consider these quick tips to stop yourself from overspending:

Budget: First things first, make a budget. How much can you actually afford to
spend? Be realistic and don’t rely heavily on credit cards. Budgeting
is also the last thing you should do, as you need to track your expenditures
after each purchase to see if you are meeting your goals and expectations.

Give for others: Remember that the best gift of all is the gift of giving. It might be tempting
to grab an item or two for yourself when visiting a retail store for others,
but the fastest way to cut holiday spending is stopping the trend of self-gifting
in its tracks.

Beneficial inconvenience: Sometimes the price of an item increases due to a “convenience cost”
that is tacked on. More often than not, this is something like expedited
shipping. Look at deals carefully and you can probably trade some lower
costs for some choices that are a little less convenient, like having
to go across town to get a comparable item at another retailer.

Travel tips: Many of us will travel this holiday season to visit friends and family,
and most of us will drop the most money in doing so. There are nearly-innumerable
travel apps and websites that fight against one another to save
you money, so don’t be afraid to shop around. Consider other money-saving
travel tips, too, like using an Uber to get to and from the airport, rather
than parking your car in the lot for a week.

Recent Debts May Not Be Discharged

If you are planning on filing for bankruptcy, it is crucial that you do
not think that you have a free opportunity to overspend and wash it all
away with debt discharges. In many personal bankruptcies – such as
Chapter 7 or
Chapter 13 filings – recently-acquired debts will not be eligible for discharge,
and therefore persist after the bankruptcy is finalized. The bankruptcy
court will also not appreciate you maximizing your credit cards with the
hope that they will forgive you. Act and spend responsibly during this
most-tempting of seasons.

Make This Holiday Your Fresh Start

If there was ever a time of the year that made it hard to save money, it
is the holiday season; the National Retail Federation estimates the average
American consumer spends nine-times in November and December what they
do in most other months. Use this chance as a fresh start and take active
steps to limit your spending. If you can succeed during the holidays,
you can succeed year-round.

For help understanding and planning for bankruptcy, you can
contact the Law Offices of James C. Shields and our Torrance bankruptcy attorneys.
We have more than two decades of legal experience and always take a compassionate
approach to our cases in hopes of helping our clients find financial freedom
once again.
Call 888.910.6652 for a free consultation.